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Politics
Stephen Hall, Lecturer (Assistant Professor) in Politics, International Relations and Russia, University of Bath

Ukraine war: a dangerous time to be a Russian-installed official in occupied territory

Ukraine Vladimir Saldo Kherson Moscow Kirill Stremousov Volodymyr Zelenksyy

Moscow has long used proxy leaders to provide a facade of independent legitimacy for territory it controls and it did so after occupying territory in the east of Ukraine in 2014.

Many of the personnel in the militaries of the breakaway Russian-backed states of Donetsk and Luhansk are Ukrainian. The leader of the provisional government of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR), Denis Pushilin and head of the self-proclaimed Luhansk People’s Republic since 2018, Leonid Pasechnik, are both Ukrainian.

This tactic has been used again in areas taken by Russian forces since the February 24 invasion. As soon as a territory was occupied by Russian forces, Moscow replaced elected representatives and installed pro-Russian proxies to run the administrations.

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